Party time with the girls!

This past weekend my best friends in the entire world had a baby shower for me. It was so special and I loved every bit of it. From the invitations to the small little details on the day of, everything was so planned and put together. I love these girls and their creativity! I don't know where they come up with all these things but I'm glad I have them in my life.

So who are these amazing party planners I'm telling you about? Here's a photo of all of us with some decorations in the background. Aren't they all so cute? No wonder they throw such pretty parties.

Here are some pictures of the food and drinks. All the food had a 'mini' theme and was so perfect. Everything was bite sized which meant I ate more than I should have but I couldn't resist!

For dessert there was an array of yummy treats. Did I mention all the food was made from scratch and so delicious. Thanks to my little bakers who always make tasty food, I'm so happy we are friends. They even made their own version of Peeps (for those of you that don't know, Peeps are my absolute favorite treat, not just at Easter but year round) which were even better than the regular ones because they were dipped in white chocolate :) I'm craving some right now just thinking about how good they were. I hope these get made at future parties. Perhaps Friendsgiving?

Altogether the shower was a complete success. I got to sample a bunch of baby food and guess what it was. Who knew spaghetti and meat balls was a baby food combination?

Here I am with my preggers bff Alexa who is due a few weeks after me. She's having a boy and since we're having a girl somehow Alexa and I will make them pretend like they are boyfriend/girlfriend their entire lives. We haven't quite figured that part out yet though.

Special thanks to all my friends who were a part of this shower(even if you weren't actually here). I loved all of the gifts and can't wait to welcome our little girl home to her room of goods. And thanks to all the new moms that were at my shower who have been so encouraging and helpful during my journey. All your advice and baby suggestions have made this process much smoother.

To my girls who organized this special event, I love you and am so glad we are in each others lives. You are all blessings to me and our little girl. Even though she's not here yet, your support, love, prayer and happiness are constantly surrounding us and we feel it all the time. XOXOXO

overwhelmed with love

Today I went to my very first baby shower that my aunts threw for me. I was so excited and couldn't wait for all the fun and gifts. The party turned out to be a total hit and everything was great. From decorations, to food and games, my aunts covered it all. I felt so loved from the minute I walked in the door to the minute we finished packing up the car. It was so nice to catch up with my family and friends that I had not seen for a while and get some great words of advice too. I even got to hear some stories about myself as a baby which were funny and gave me some insight to what's in store for me.

I put some pictures below from the shower but have so many many more to share. I'm definitely going to need to put together a scrapbook of all the memories. We got gifts off our baby registry and beautiful hand made made items including blankets, a stuffed animal, and a scarf. I can't even begin to wrap my head around the endless hours it takes to thread, knit, or stitch.

My aunt Kerry made this amazing diaper tower (check out all the little goodies tucked into it)

My sister Jenny put together a bunch of photos of me growing up with sweet little messages. Can you guess how many candies are in that baby bottle?

Here I am with my aunts who put together this amazing shower. Huge Thanks!

Here I am with my sisters and mom:

When I got home we lugged everything up to our place and I was still on such a high from the party. It might have been because of the two huge cupcakes I ate that my aunt Karen made(they were so delicious I couldn't stop myself), or the amazing chocolate covered strawberries that Lorraine made, or quite possibly the snicker doodle cookie Diane brought as party favors. Needless to say, I was on a sugar high and bouncing off the walls.

We brought everything up to our place and I couldn't wait to show Joel everything. I think he was surprised with how many gifts I received. I reminded him how much this baby is loved and she's not even here yet! So we sat down and started digging through some of the gifts. After about ten outfits Joel said, "she has so many clothes!" Which I know in Joel language means: where are we going to put all this stuff?!?

I just want to say thank you again to everyone for all the thoughtful gifts and support. It means so much to me! And even if you couldn't be here today at the shower, I appreciate you all who sent gifts from afar. I really, truly, was overwhelmed with love.

birthday love

We celebrated Joel's 28th birthday yesterday. It's weird to look back and think about how long I have known him and how quickly time flies. In less than 3 months we are going to be parents. I'm so excited and especially excited for Joel. He thinks he's getting old but I love where we're at in our lives. I'm more than content growing old with him and raising a family.

For now I get to plan and prep for our little girl and Joel gets really cute shirts. Well he got other awesome gifts for his birthday too but this one stands out the most to me because when our little girls wears it a year from now I'll think back to how much we loved her before she was even in our arms.

hang in there

Our baby is growing fast and furious now. With only 10 weeks left to go until our due date the time is flying by.

Here are some fun facts:

- she weighs about 3lbs and is fitting in my belly nice and snug

- the baby books refer to her size as a large head of cabbage

- she's 15.7 inches long

- she continues to be very active and rolls more than she kicks

- in just the last 5 weeks she has gained 1.5lbs and I've put on another 4

A few weeks ago Joel and I started going to labor preparation class at the hospital. The class covers everything we will face once I go into labor until delivery. Each week we learn more about delivery and what to expect in addition to different techniques to use during delivery to help ease some of the discomfort. The class is great for us because we have so many questions and this class covers all the details. The doula that teaches the class has lots of experience and stories to share with us.

Just the other week we worked on focus points, distractions, and helpful breathing techniques. I want to preface this story I'm about to share by adding how supportive Joel is in all of these classes. Occasionally he cracks a joke when the room is quiet but it always lightens the mood for us. Anyways, I have no clue when Joel had time to do this because I was sitting right next to him, but somehow when our teacher was going over the next technique for us to try Joel was on his phone up to no good. As I lay on the floor with my eyes closed, focusing on my breathing, Joel came and sat right next to me and started rubbing my back. I kept my eyes closed as Joel repeatedly told me to, "hang in there...hang in there you're doing great." (These are the supportive things you want your husband to say, especially while he's rubbing your back and you're trying to imagine what contractions might be like). I really felt like Joel was connecting with the exercise.

After Joel repeated the "hang in there" line a few more times, I knew something was up and opened my eyes. Here's the image he was holding in front of me on his phone:

A little kitten on a branch with the line "hang in there" hovering in the air. Of course I started laughing but all the other couples in the room were so calm and focused. I had to keep my laughter to a minimum and pretend like we were still practicing. I may never know why he thought of this image at the time but I love him for it.

Although little kittens are cute I know for a fact I don't want to see that image in the delivery room. I made Joel put the picture away for the rest of the class and reminded him a couple more times that I definitely didn't want to use it later.

Joel- I love you more than you know. Your encouragement and support have been more than I could ever ask for. You are the best husband and friend and I'm so happy we are in this together. Thank you for reminding me to take some time to laugh about the silly things.

easing our way into the 3rd trimester

Time really does fly by when you're having fun. Between appointments, hospital visits, preparing the baby room and trying to get in some reading, Joel and I are on quite the roller coaster. The good thing is we started planning early so things have yet to be stressful or chaotic. We just take things one day at a time and hope for the best. The baby room almost has all the necessary furniture in place and now we just are waiting for all the baby showers to come in order to fill up the room. I'm still in awe of how many things this little girl is going to need and I can honestly say Joel was shocked when he saw our registry but once he perused through it all I think he found that the majority of the items were absolute essentials.

Just a week ago I took my amazing friend Sunny (who happens to be a new mom) and my mom to get started with my baby registry. I would have just taken my mom but she honestly would have been as lost as I was. So many things have changed and are new, not to mention all the options. How do you know which one is the best? Luckily with Sunny by my side she made my baby registering experience a breeze. She practically held my hand as we walked up and down every aisle at Babies R Us and she gave me her advice and opinions on the walls of products. I honestly would have been lost with out her. Did I mention we were there for four hours?!? Trust me when I say it felt like we were there for only 2. It's insane how wrapped up you can get in all this stuff. Anyways, check out the registry and for any other moms out there, let me know if you have suggestions or items that should be added to the list. I think you will find that we practically covered everything.

Now let's get to the good stuff. I have 12 weeks until my due date! Which means I'm right at the start of my third and final trimester. With baby showers and the holidays right around the corner things are really going to start to speed up. My baby bump should start getting much larger which will be quite the sight to see. For those in my family that haven't seen me in a while here is a picture of me from a couple of weeks ago

My uterus is about the size of a basketball and she is taking advantage of the space while she has it. She really can be active from time to time which I love because it reassures me that she's in there and growing. Although I'm not huge yet, my belly is definitely taking shape. In fact right now it pretty much sticks straight out, kind of like a shelf. I'm curious to see what I'll look like in a few weeks as she and I both gain more weight.

In store for us this week we have a doctors appointment and a child birth prep class. More on those things later and more pictures of the nursery when I remember to take pictures.

random thoughts

This afternoon I was thinking about how big our little baby is starting to get. Obviously I always have baby on the brain so I thought I'd look up some fun facts to share about me and her.

-I'm currently 25 weeks pregnant which means I only have 15 weeks to go! woohoo!

-Our baby weighs about 1.5lbs

-Right now she gains about 6 ounces a week

-She is about the size of an eggplant

-Believe it or not, my uterus is the size of a soccer ball (although I don't think I look that round...yet)

-She likes to move around the most late at night

-My belly button looks like it's just about ready to pop

-I don't have any cravings but I think I eat hummus everyday

-Joel can hear the baby's heartbeat by putting his ear on my belly

busy bees

We have been running around constantly for the past few weeks. After Joel and I got back from our month of constant traveling we decided it was time to get down to baby business. Our first task was to remove just about everything from our office which will soon be our nursery. We had lots of papers to go through and had to come up with brilliant ways to store some belongings that just aren't ready to go into storage. I found myself reorganizing other parts of our home just to find space for important papers, office supplies, my crafty things, and a whole bunch of useless chords that Joel claims have significance. We have found ways to sprinkle all of these things throughout our home. I especially liked hiding Joel's things in a basket in the kitchen.

Once we got the room all cleared out it was finally time to get back into baby mode. I had already been searching for crib bedding, nursery furniture, and paint colors from time to time so I had some ideas in mind. My friends have all been lending a hand and giving me great advice which has been much appreciated. Our family has also been stopping by to take a look at our progress and even lend a hand in painting. Thanksto you all!

Here are some updates:

I really like the way the paint color turned out but it's hard to tell in these pictures. I was nervous at first but once we started bringing items into the room it just looked even better.

We're unsure how we are going to organize all the furniture still but I think we will be able to figure that out better once we have everything. It's weird to think about how much baby stuff will be in this room in a few months. It's so empty and quiet right now.

My parents brought over this rocking chair this morning to try out in the room. It's been in the family for quite some time so I thought it might be a good thing to add to our room. It needs a little cushion but it's in great shape and i really like it by the window.

We used to have black curtains in the room but I found these great textured cream ones and they are real cute with everything. Joel also hung a black out shade behind the curtains just to make sure it can stay extra dark in the room for while our little girl sleeps.

Trapper tested the crib for us...well, just to make sure it was safe for the baby.

As we bring in more items and get the bedding all sorted I'll be sure to post more pictures. This has been a neat experience so far and I'm trying to sit back and soak it all in.

a Kid or a Mom?

I've always thought of myself as fun. I mean, I'm not the life of the party but I like to have a good time and goof off, especially with friends and family. I enjoy coloring, playing dress up, even playing with dolls. Those are kid things, right?

Joel and I have been in Laguna Beach for the past few days. We come here every year with all Joel's family to spend some quality time together and get some much needed relaxation. I always love coming here and spending time with all 39 Taylor's, especially the little kids. It's nice to play, swim and shop in the sun. This year felt different in Laguna though. Since Joel and I are expecting our own little girl, I often caught Joel bonding with the little kids. I even found myself wanting to hang out with them a little more to try to gain some insight into their world. I hung out with the little girls and watched them put on dance shows or attempt to swim back and forth in the pool. They were all giggling and laughing without a care in the world. I felt like I was swept up into their tiny moments of fun. I too felt like a little kid.

I want to share a conversation I had with Joel's 4 year-old cousin Chase while we were playing in the pool, here's part 1:

Chase: Kim...are you a kid or a mom?

Kim: Well, ummm, I'm going to be a mom but I'm not right now

Chase: So then you're a kid?

Kim: Yea, something like that

Chase: Let's swim more

I assume that Chase already accepted me into her circle of kid friends but needed to confirm while she had me all to herself in the pool. We swam for the rest of the afternoon and played in the sun. I was a kid and she told all the others I was.

Later that night this short conversation got me thinking about what type of mom I'm going to be and how Joel and I will act together as parents. How will we raise our kids? What will our new baby think of us? What will she tell her friends?

After playing all day in the sun Chase and I parted ways but she came back to visit me late that night. Here is part 2 of our conversation:

Chase: Kim, what day are you leaving?

Kim: I leave tomorrow, when are you going home?

Chase: Monday. Why do you have to leave tomorrow?

Kim: I have work on Monday

Chase: But I thought you were a Kid?

I guess you're not allowed to work if you're a Kid. And maybe I'm not a Kid anymore since I'm on my way to being a mom but I know one thing for sure...I'm a little girl at heart and that will probably make me an okay mom.

baking for baby

Today I went to a friend's baby shower and it was great. I met up with some old friends and spent time bonding with my fellow mom to be. She is also having a little girl so it was fun to watch her open girlie gifts. Over the past few months I have really learned from her and shared similar experiences. I feel like I am following in her footsteps. It's a blessing to have several pregnant women growing with me and even new moms who offer great advice and words of wisdom. Thanks to you all!

So back to the days main event...everyone was asked to bring something to the shower. I signed up to bring cupcakes because I thought they were the easiest and the cutest. For those of you that know me really well, I'm not the one who usually does all the cooking or baking. That would be where my loving husband comes into the picture. He's the chef in this household and usually comes to my recuse when he sees me struggle in the kitchen. So when I told him I signed up for cupcakes I was expecting him to eagerly look up a fun, tasty recipe. To my dismay he left me alone to create and pull something together.

Ok, ok, so he didn't leave me completely alone because he knows better. It's almost always a guarantee that whatever I cook is going to end up burnt. Today I mixed up all the ingredients, poured them into the little molds, and put them into the oven, minutes later i completely forgot I had put anything in the oven. Ooops! But at least I turned the oven on! Right? Joel quickly got up and ran over to the oven to pull them out. Basically he came to my rescue and saved me from what could have been my hundredth baking disaster. Thank you Joel for keeping an eye on me!

So maybe I'm not a baker but I do enjoy moments of being creative. I found these cute cupcake decorating ideas online for baby showers and I had seen some from other showers that I was wanting to try for myself. One I had seen was decorated like a baby rattle. It was an ambitious task but I went for it (I mean, if the cupcakes weren't going to be edible, at least they were going to look edible). Here is a picture of what i pulled together

They were a hit at the shower and the girls said they were good. I never tried them because I was too full by the time dessert came around. I guess next time I should try them before I serve them to a group of people. Hopefully I didn't leave any ingredients out(another thing I'm guilty of) I guess I'm learning along the way.

Joel's rebuttal:

Hey, I didn't feel like baking. Sue me.

decorating with a kick

Joel and I have really been blessed. Not only do we have a loving family, we also have generous, giving and loving friends. Several of which have offered to lend or even give us things to help prepare for our little girl.

As some of you may know, Joel and I have been traveling lots lately. I feel like we are hardly ever home and when we are, we are always on the run. So when we came home from our most recent trip I had a sudden urge to start combing through many of our belongings and trying to figure out where they would go once the baby comes into our life. We have an entire office that we will turn into a nursery which means we either have to sell, donate or figure out how we can turn our furniture into something baby friendly. It's really got me to start thinking about how we our going to decorate and plan for the nursery. And I'm loving every bit of it.

I guess it doesn't hurt that I'm also feeling our little girl move. That's right...she's MOVING around now. It's hard to explain the feeling but it's not little flutters, it's more like little nudges. Reminders to me throughout the day that she is here. This could explain my sudden urge to plan the nursery and if so, then I really like the reminders. It's so amazing to know that something is in me and growing and stretching. The other day Joel and I went to the doctor and we actually saw her hiccuping on the screen. It was so cool. We also saw her little arms reach out and make a punch. My guess is that she is making space in my womb as she continues to grow bigger. She's almost a pound now!

I've found that over the past couple of weeks she tends to rest in the morning and then become more active in the afternoon and night. Almost everyday when I lay down to go to sleep she wakes up and starts moving around. I'm used to not being able to fall asleep because I'm not tired enough, the lights are on, or there is too much noise but I never thought about not being able to sleep because something in my belly would be keeping me up. The feeling is great though and I'm excited to share it with Joel. I can reach over and put his hand on my stomach and have him feel her for a while. He finally gets to share some of my moments with her.

As she grows and makes bigger movements I'm curious to find out how I'm going to change. How will I take shape? What other things will I experience with her and how will I apply them to my life? What little messages will she send me over the course of the next few months? I'm looking forward to it all even if that means i get an extra kick or two.

Think Pink

I never dreamed that I would love the color pink so much. We just found out we are having a GIRL and I've been dreaming in pink ever since. GiRl gIrL GiRl!!! I'm so excited and can hardly contain myself. Joel and I really didn't have a preference for the sex of the baby but I can't help but feel spoiled to decorate and pick out all the cutest, girliest things possible. Joel doesn't share my pink enthusiasm but he's more then ecstatic that we are having a girl.

I'm 19 weeks pregnant right now and starting to show. Just the other day I felt our baby girl moving around in my belly. She is 1/2lb right now so I'm figuring as she's growing and getting bigger she's most likely getting restless or just checking out the space. I'm looking forward to feeling bigger movements as she grows and tires of being in my belly.

So now we get to start some real planning. Any tips out there? Decorating ideas, baby necessities, where to shop? In the mean time I've been reading up and taking notes from fellow moms. I've let Joel know that I want to paint the baby room pink. I'm trying to ease him in to all the girl things to come, although he's in for some big changes either way. We even got our first pink outfit! Joel seems to be ok with this one. :)

Thanks Nick and Nikki!!!!

I find myself often thinking about how much this little girl is going to love him and look up to him. Then I think about how Joel is going to be such an awesome dad and fall in love with the color pink just like me.

not a typical day

Today was unlike any other. I've been doing as much baby reading as possible in my free time. Although I haven't been able to keep up on everything I have tried to stay up to speed at least on a weekly basis. In my latest late night readings I've learned that my hormone levels are out of whack and that my emotions could at any time get the best of me.

Well...today I woke up and my emotions attacked. I couldn't explain what was happening but I felt powerless against myself. Like a 5 year old trapped in a 26 year old body. The littlest thing meant the world to me and for a slight second I might actually have thought my own world was about to crumble. To make matters worse, when I tried to explain my feelings to my loving husband I clearly recall him giggling as I tried to hold back my tears from flaring up even more. Again, picture a little girl in despair...I could hardly breathe let alone explain what I was feeling. Joel really did have the best intentions and was doing his best to understand me. I really just caught him off guard and he didn't know how to respond. Plus I looked ridiculous.

The moment I got my emotions all out of my system I was back to my old self. I was even able to joke about it with Joel later in the day and share the story with most of my friends. It was funny, made no sense, and was so random. I decided it's best to categorize any future happenings like this as 'incidents'. It helps me to feel a little less crazy and I find I can laugh at myself much easier.

yoga anyone?

So the other day I went to my first prenatal yoga class. Never a big fan of yoga I wasn't sure what to expect. My one experience with yoga prior to pregnancy was slow and boring and I actually think I may have fallen asleep. At the urge of my doctor I checked it out anyways and read up a little on it before my class. I also asked Alexa, one of my best friends, that also happens to be pregnant to come along with me. (by the way, having a pregnant best friend is awesome)

So we both showed up at the class yoga mats in hand ready to conquer any pose that came our way. I must say, prenatal yoga is much more challenging than I ever expected. In addition to all the breathing techniques, I found myself in interesting positions that were stretching parts of my body I didn't know could be stretched. I realized that I really do have the worst posture ever and that standing up straight for long periods of time is more uncomfortable to me than being hunched over. Apparently I also like to hold my breath when I'm in deep lunges. I can only imagine how red my face would get before our kind instructor would whisper, "breathe Kimberly." Despite my trouble breathing the class was great. I learned a lot about myself, my body and what great benefits there are to practicing yoga while pregnant.

I may be unbalanced and uncoordinated already, and I will probably get worse as this belly gets bigger. But for now I'm going to give this yoga thing a shot.

for anyone interested in yoga (prenatal or not) here's the info for where i go:
www.glowingyoga.com

doctor time

So we are playing catch up with this blog. It's something I was meaning to start awhile back but time has really flown by. I'm 17 weeks pregnant and we have had several doctors appointments already. The first visit was exciting, fun and nerve-wrecking. All I wanted to hear the doctor say was that a healthy baby was growing inside me. Lucky for me he said just that and even gave us pictures to prove it. Here is a picture from our first visit. I can't tell what's going on but apparently we were right on track.

Over the course of the next few weeks we continued to get new pictures and updates on our little baby. I always look forward to these visits and the photos. In fact I wish I could make an appointment every week just to get a visual on the baby and make sure everything is okay. I get antsy waiting around for updates and I need reassurance that everything is on schedule. I'm not really sure how Joel feels about going to the appointments with me. I mean, I know he is excited about them but since he isn't the one growing it's a little different.

At our last appointment, just a week ago, Joel and I were in for a surprise. We scheduled the appointment like we normally do, we arrived at our regular time, and still they did something very peculiar. You see, the doctor had set this precedent that we were getting an ultrasound every visit so when we didn't go to the ultrasound room this time, I was definitely caught off guard. I think I actually looked at the nurse like she didn't know what she was doing. I even went as far to stop her and say, "this is the wrong room. We need to go to the ultrasound room." I'm not sure she appreciated me telling her how to do her job but i was confident that I needed an updated picture. Needless to say we didn't get taken to the new room and never got a picture. She tried to persuade me and tell me I was going to get something even better, the heart beat!...listening to the heart beat is nice but not better.

Despite my effort to even coerce my doctor to sneak me into the ultrasound room I had to give up and tell myself everything was fine. Our doctor gave us the 'everything is great' talk and we were on our way. Although it was hard walking away without a picture I made sure to check and see what's in store for us next month. Looks like things might just go my way...we get another picture. :)

baby on the way

"We're having a baby!" Is what i jumped on top of Joel and said the minute I took the pregnancy test and saw a positive. I was so excited and could hardly contain myself. That morning I woke up earlier than Joel and decided it was time to take the test. I had taken it about 5 days prior with one of those first response tests but we got a negative. I realized how quickly we could begin to waste 10 bucks and at the suggestion of my husband decided to wait it out.

I consider myself to be a pretty patient person but when you're trying to get pregnant all you can think about is if you actually are or when you can take a test. I would try not to think about it but I couldn't help it. I had baby making on the brain constantly. Ok, back to THE morning...like I said, I woke up earlier than Joel and it was all i could think about, i had to take the test even if that meant not asking him if it was finally time. 5 whole days seemed sufficient enough in my book. It turned out I made the right choice. The test was a positive and my wait was over. I ran into our bedroom where Joel was sleeping and jumped right on top of him and just started saying, "we're having a baby!." Joel was so throne off that he had no clue what I was even saying. Looking back I probably was saying so many different things it's no wonder it took him a second to catch on. I was also most likely jumping all around the bed and wouldn't be surprised if i started singing it. As soon as Joel caught on he reached up, smiled, and the 3 of us started to kiss. That's right, the 3 of us.

Our little dog Trapper(a malti-poo) is more of a practice first child then a dog to me. He goes every where with us and has opted to act more human-like than dog-like. So it was no surprise to me or Joel that when we started to kiss and share a moment, our little baby-dog-man wanted to be right in the middle of all the action stealing the majority of the attention. Joel says that Trapper likes to give kisses, I just think he likes to make out with Joel.

So the 3 of us kissed and shared a moment and I told Joel(who had barely had any sleep) to rest a little longer and we could talk about it all in a little. In the mean time I carried Trapper around like a baby and he soaked up every minute of being in my arms. When Joel finally woke up, we had the perfect Saturday morning. We both had so many questions and so much to think about. We both wanted to head over to the doctor and confirm what this test had told us but the office wouldn't be open until Monday so I had to wait it out before I could even call to make the appointment. But for the rest of that weekend i glowed. We agreed not to say anything until our first doctors visit. It felt like an eternity to get to that first visit but it was worth the wait. Our baby was growing in the mean time and getting ready for the first picture. And me, Joel and Trapper shared a special family secret for the next few weeks.

the happy couple